<p>India’s top men’s singles player Yuki Bhambri sees a tough encounter awaiting the Indians in their away Davis Cup Asia-Oceania Group 1 tie against New Zealand but believes they were well-prepared to keep up their winning record against the Kiwis.<br /><br /></p>.<p>India lead New Zealand 4-3 in Davis Cup clashes, winning 5-0 in their last meeting in hot conditions of Chandigarh in 2012. The Kiwis, for the July 17-19 tie, will now have the indoor stadium of chilly Christchurch greeting the Indians who have spent the last few weeks on various circuits across the globe.<br /><br />The hosts are also boosted by their 4-1 victory over China at home and would be going all out against India to book a place in the World Group play-off for the first time since 1999. <br /><br />“When they had toured India, New Zealand were an inexperienced lot but now they have got quite a few matches under their belt. They beat China, which is an incredible achievement,” Yuki, who would be flying to Christchurch on Saturday morning, told Deccan Herald.<br /><br />The New Zealand team comprising Jose Statham (342 ranked), Michael Venus (with singles ranking of 562 and doubles ranking of 55), Marcus Daniell (doubles ranking of 74) and Artem Sitak (doubles ranking of 40) have achieved significant results in last few months. India, on the other hand have singles players in Yuki (156) and Somdev Devvarman (173) with Rohan Bopanna (doubles 18th) and Saketh Myneni (singles 210 and doubles 176) forming the doubles combination.<br /><br /> “They have three top 100 players in the doubles. I have known Michael for some time now. We reached the third round of Australian Open doubles last year. You never know what to expect from him. So the doubles tie could be tricky for us. <br /><br />“But we are well placed to win this tie and reaching there a week in advance to acclimatize to the conditions,” said Yuki, who would be spearheading the Indian challenge.</p>
<p>India’s top men’s singles player Yuki Bhambri sees a tough encounter awaiting the Indians in their away Davis Cup Asia-Oceania Group 1 tie against New Zealand but believes they were well-prepared to keep up their winning record against the Kiwis.<br /><br /></p>.<p>India lead New Zealand 4-3 in Davis Cup clashes, winning 5-0 in their last meeting in hot conditions of Chandigarh in 2012. The Kiwis, for the July 17-19 tie, will now have the indoor stadium of chilly Christchurch greeting the Indians who have spent the last few weeks on various circuits across the globe.<br /><br />The hosts are also boosted by their 4-1 victory over China at home and would be going all out against India to book a place in the World Group play-off for the first time since 1999. <br /><br />“When they had toured India, New Zealand were an inexperienced lot but now they have got quite a few matches under their belt. They beat China, which is an incredible achievement,” Yuki, who would be flying to Christchurch on Saturday morning, told Deccan Herald.<br /><br />The New Zealand team comprising Jose Statham (342 ranked), Michael Venus (with singles ranking of 562 and doubles ranking of 55), Marcus Daniell (doubles ranking of 74) and Artem Sitak (doubles ranking of 40) have achieved significant results in last few months. India, on the other hand have singles players in Yuki (156) and Somdev Devvarman (173) with Rohan Bopanna (doubles 18th) and Saketh Myneni (singles 210 and doubles 176) forming the doubles combination.<br /><br /> “They have three top 100 players in the doubles. I have known Michael for some time now. We reached the third round of Australian Open doubles last year. You never know what to expect from him. So the doubles tie could be tricky for us. <br /><br />“But we are well placed to win this tie and reaching there a week in advance to acclimatize to the conditions,” said Yuki, who would be spearheading the Indian challenge.</p>
